Debt Collection for Nurseries and Childcare Providers

Recovering overdue childcare fees is one of the more sensitive challenges a setting can face. We understand the pressure you’re under – and we’re here to help.

 

The Challenge Childcare Providers Face

You’ve built real relationships with the families you support. Those relationships are about the children in your care – not chasing unpaid invoices. That’s why it’s so hard for staff to talk about debt with parents and carers, and why it often goes unaddressed for too long. Using DCS to pursue the debt means your staff don’t have to handle debt conversations and can focus on childcare.

Why Childcare Debt Happens

Nursery fees are often low on a family’s financial priority list, particularly when money is tight. Debt can build up in a number of ways:

• Missed or late payments over time
• A change in circumstances – relationship breakdown, reduced income, or illness
• Confusion about what fees are covered by government funding schemes
• Disputes over notice periods or days when a child was absent

Individuals sometimes keep debts hidden from partners or family members, hoping the problem will go away. The longer it’s left, the harder it becomes to resolve – for both the provider and the family.

What We Do

When you instruct us, we take over all contact with the debtor. We explore the reason for non-payment, agree realistic payment plans where appropriate, and work toward a resolution that works for both sides.

For ongoing service users: we’ll typically agree a payment plan to clear the arrears while the parent continues to pay their regular fees directly to you.

For former service users: we have experience handling disputes around notice periods, absences, and government funding — and we work to broker a fair conclusion for everyone involved.

We prefer negotiation over court action for childcare debts. County Court proceedings remain an option where necessary, but they’re never the best first step.

 

Common Contractual Issues We See

Many childcare providers aren’t sure who is legally responsible for paying their fees — especially in complex family arrangements. We regularly deal with:

• Ambiguity around who signed the contract and who is liable for the fees
• Unclear notice period terms
• Uncertainty about which fees are the parent’s responsibility vs government-funded

We have experience navigating all of these situations and can advise you on the best course of action.

 

Our Fees

We charge a flat instruction fee to take on a new case. The rest of our fee is success-based – we only earn our commission when we recover money for you. We ask debtors to pay you directly, speeding up your receipt of funds.

 

Get in touch

Ready to discuss a case, or just want to understand your options? Call us on 0117 370 4236 or email office@childcaredebt.uk — we’re happy to talk it through.

 

 

Tips to assist with credit control:

✓ Ensure there is no uncertainty as to who should be paying your fees. (Does this match the contract?)
✓ Aim to have your standard monthly fees paid in advance.
✓ Ensure your charging structure (including with regard to holidays, sickness and notice periods) is clear and known to the customer.
✓ Issue clear and easy to understand invoices showing the services being provided over what period, and when payment is due.
✓ Ensure your invoices provide clear information on the name of your business (for example “Whatever Nursery, a trading name of Whatever Childcare Services Limited”), and meet other legal requirements for invoices.
✓ Include your bank account details on invoices and statements to ensure your customer has your bank account details to hand to make prompt payment. Have you looked at collecting fees by Standing Order or Direct Debit?
✓ Pursue an overdue account as soon as it becomes overdue. An email or text along the lines of “Just a reminder that your payment for xx was due yesterday. Please let me know if there is any difficulty.” can be a cheap, effective and friendly means of credit control.
✓ Send reminder invoices or statements for overdue accounts. If you normally hand invoices etc to the customer, then post copies of overdue invoices or statements to the customer (this also helps to ensure you have a current address for the customer).
✓ Devise and implement a Credit Management Policy to determine when a debt is referred to a third party like DCS.
✓ Keep a record of your contact with customers regarding overdue accounts, and note their response (if any).
✓ Ensure parents/carers have access to your Complaints Policy so that withholding payment is not the only route for a dissatisfied customer to raise their concerns. (Perhaps publish your Complaints Policy on your website.)
✓ Treat debt seriously. Review overdue accounts on at least a monthly basis. If your setting gets a reputation for customers being able to ignore invoices, then the number of people not paying your invoices will increase.

www.childcaredebt.uk     office@childcaredebt.uk